TMID Editorial: The economy remains the top issue
Issues related to the economy remain the top concern for people in Malta, according to a Eurobarometer survey published over the course of last week.The survey found that inflation and the environment are the major concerns for Maltese citizens, with
Issues related to the economy remain the top concern for people in Malta, according to a Eurobarometer survey published over the course of last week.
The survey found that inflation and the environment are the major concerns for Maltese citizens, with rising prices and the cost of living being mentioned by 43% of respondents as a concern particularly when asked about the economy.
Immigration followed as the second most mentioned issue, with 31% of respondents highlighting this as an area of concern. Notably, younger generations such as Generation Z are more concerned about immigration compared to older groups but are less concerned about inflation.
This paints a picture that perhaps lines up in parallel with other surveys, with younger generations becoming increasingly worried about their place in the workforce in Malta.
The line of thinking here is that foreign workers coming into the local job market are preventing Maltese young people from finding work, or from seeing their working conditions improve – it is the age old economic adage that workers from Third Countries (TCNs) will theoretically settle for a lower salary, thereby preventing salary increases for locals.
Whether that’s actually true or not in some industries is a bit more difficult to ascertain, but the perception that it is is still very much present and this is no doubt contributing to the high percentage of younger Maltese people who feel more inclined to leave Malta than stay.
It is a topic which needs to be addressed by the government, and one which, in fairness, has been latched onto by Prime Minister Robert Abela particularly since the last Budget where a shift in economic model with a new policy governing foreign workers being a key part of it.
The Labour Party in government has survived shocks which can even be considered as seismic before primarily because the country’s economy has continued to perform and – more importantly – the people have felt the country’s economy to be performing.
Now that the performance isn’t as strong – or perhaps rather, people are starting to get more irritated at the negatives of it than they are pleased with its positives – the party has started to suffer polling setbacks.
As The Malta Independent itself pointed out in an editorial on 8 November this year, the quote from Jim Carville, an advisor to Bill Clinton who quipped in the run-up to the 1992 presidential elections: "It's the economy, stupid" – rings true in politics, both as far away as the United States and as close to home as Malta.
With measures like the continued subsidies to keep fuel and energy prices stable, subsidies on cereals, the additional Cost of Living Allowance being paid out to low income families, and the commitment to put in place a new policy which will look at foreigners in the workforce, Abela clearly knows that this is a matter which needs to be given the utmost priority.
Whether his efforts will be in vain or not will likely be one of the focuses throughout 2025.
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